Electrical devices are often tested, especially during development, production, or when they are not working properly. Test equipment provides information about the operation of the devices. Test equipment may include meters, probes, logic analyzers, and scopes such as oscilloscopes, for example.
It is sometimes difficult to accurately measure high frequency signals generated by a device because of, among other reasons, the difficulty in reliably connecting or coupling the device under test to the measuring device. For the best results, the devices should be solidly electrically connected to the test device. For example, a preferred method for measuring test signals having frequencies between 6-10 GHz is to first attach a small solder-in lead to various testing points in the circuit. Then, the lead may be coupled to a probe of a high-frequency testing device and the signals of the device are measured. In practice, the probe may be manually coupled to a number of separate soldered-in leads so that the signals at the testing points may be measured.
Even though soldering such connections is the best currently available method, it is not without problems. Installation of such devices by soldering the typically small leads is problematic, and can lead to damage to either the lead, the device, or both. Damaging either may be costly, either in equipment or in time lost to fix the damage. Further, solder-in leads tend to be small and are damaged easily, and it is easy to break the fine leads that are typically coupled to coax cable connectors. Costs are another issue, both in device and labor costs, as the leads are expensive and take time to install properly.
Embodiments of the invention address these and other limitations of the prior art.